You Will Never Be Rid of Me!
by TwilightSparkle3562
Summary: After letting go of her guilt in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" Princess Luna is confronted by her creation, the Tantabus, who has a really strong message for Luna despite her victories. *Written at Fillycon 2016 in Philadelphia, PA.


Disclaimer: I do not own "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" or its characters. They are property of Hasbro Studios and DHX Media.

"You Will Never Be Rid of Me!"

By TwilightSparkle3562

Princess Luna was doing something that she had not done in a long time: having a peaceful night's sleep after her emotional breakthrough during the battle against the Tantabus, a creation of her self-harm as a result of her actions as Nightmare Moon. With encouragement from her fellow princess, Twilight Sparkle, Luna was able to overcome her guilt and overpower the nightmarish virus that had threatened to spread its evil on Equestria.

Unfortunately, as she slept in her bedroom, Luna felt a strange presecnse hovering over her. The sound of deep breaths were being heard as she tried to find out the source of the disturbance. Opening her eyes weakly, Luna nodded her head up and saw a black pony-like figure standing right over her, its eyes red with flame and a flowing mane that was similar to her own.

"Impossible!" she cried, immediately jumping up in surprise as the figure laughed. "How could you stand before me, Tantabus? I defeated you with help from Twilight Sparkle and her friends in the Ponyville Dream!"

"Did you think that I would be defeated that easily, Princess Luna?" asked the Tantabus, talking in a voice that was more distorted than Luna's, almost like it was being mind-controlled by somepony. "I am a part of you and I will never leave your side!"

In a fit of rage, Luna jumped to her feet and powered up her horn, firing several magic blasts at the Tantabus, but the ghostly shadow of Luna's self merely jumped back and chuckled in a taunting manner. Luna growled as she continued firing several more blasts that were all for nothing.

"Try all you want, Princess Luna," laughed the Tantabus. "I can't be destroyed with magic! I helped you become the pony you always wanted to be: a pony that longed to be admired and respected. Accept me once again and I will help you regain all that you have lost."

"Lies!" screamed Luna, her horn glowing in rage as tears formed in her eyes. "All you are saying to me are lies, Tantabus! You hear me? Lies! LIES!"

Luna's screams were heard throughout the castle and at that moment, Celestia awoke from her own deep sleep at the sounds of her sister's voice. This caused Celestia to become worried for her sister's well-being and donning a gold bathrobe, she left her room as the screams Luna was producing grew louder and louder.

"It's not all lies, Princess Luna," said the Tantabus. "I have a purpose to erase all of the friendship that your mind has been plagued with. You are Nightmare Moon and I will do everything in my power to give you the power that you possess as her. Your sister, Celestia, is your true enemy, Luna. Accept me again and I will help you destroy her."

Luna looked away from the Tantabus, her mind not being able to bear the thought of actually killing off somepony as important as her older sister. Yes, both Celestia and Luna had their qualms, but they made them up over time. The past was in the past and she needed to let it go and move on with her life.

"Look at me, Princess Luna!" hissed the Tantabus, trying to regain Luna's attention. "Look at me, your creation of infinite power and the enemy of friendship!"

Luna continued to try and hide herself from the Tantabus' attempts to make her turn away from friendship. Then, she realized that she couldn't hide from her torment anymore. Luna had to confront this creation of hers again and emerge victorious.

"I will look at you, Tantabus," she said in a voice that made the Tantabus hiss in delight. However, Luna had other ideas as she turned to the Tantabus, her tear filled eyes glaring at it as she talked in a barking loud Canterlot voice. "But, it will not be to surrender to a vile, despicable creature like you, Tantabus! I created you and I can erase you from my mind all forever! I am not the pony I once was anymore! Nightmare Moon was a creature that is dead and gone!"

The Tantabus growled and snarled like a wild animal upon hearing this, not wanting to believe that Luna was a reformed pony. It needed her guilt to survive in existence. Luna was its creator, Luna was the reason that it came into being to begin with. Suddenly, the Tantabus felt itself being dragged towards Luna as it struggled to free itself from her grasp.

"What is going on?" cried the Tantabus as it struggled to get itself free. "Why are you doing this, Princess Luna? If you banish me from existence, I swear you will regret this!"

"Be Gone!" Luna cried, her horn glowing more and more brighter. "I banish you from existence, Tantabus, forever!"

The Tantabus then could no longer struggle and as quickly as it had begun, the magic force pulled it towards Luna and out of existence.

"NOOOOO!" screamed the Tantabus as it was pulled into Luna's chest plate until there was no more trace of it. "You will pay for this, Princess Luna!"

Once the Tantabus had been defeated and wiped from sight, Luna felt every bit of strength leave her body and she fell down on the bedroom floor, exhausted as a result of the ensuring battle she had been fighting. Just then, the door to Luna's room opened and Celestia let out a sharp gasp as she dashed over to her sister's side.

"Luna, are you all right?" Celestia cried, her voice deeply panicked. It took a few moments for Luna to get her remaining strength back, but she eventually succeeded. However, Luna was still weak. "Please, speak to me! What happened in here?"

"It, it was here," gasped Luna, still trying to catch her breath as she spoke, tears once again forming in her eyes. "The Tantabus was here, wanting to take over my mind again, sister. But, it failed…just like the Ponyville dream. It will never harm us ever again, big sister. I swear with every bit of magic I possess, it will never harm us again."

"Oh, Luna…" cried Celestia as the two sisters pulled each other into a tight embrace, the sounds of sobbing coming from both sisters which would be heard throughout the Canterlot night sky. Yes, the Tantabus was gone, but even though Luna said that it was gone forever, it merely was pulled back into Luna's body, one day waiting for the moment when it would escape again.

"You may have defeated me two times, Princess Luna," the creature hissed as it wandered through a nightmarish wasteland that Luna had created for the evil dreams of Equestria. "But, I swear that I will return and I will live up to how you created me!"


End file.
